WARHAVEN

Forty-Two

The ineffective seasons had passed and Augustus and I's relationship had evolved quite significantly. Everyone in the castle knew that we were together, and no longer looked shocked when they saw us holding hands down the hall or kissing in the library. They no longer whispered amongst themselves when we would stay a little too late in one another's rooms.

Everything with him felt so natural, casual and safe. I often forgot that the boring times were also safe ones, and that I needed to be grateful for them as a whole. I no longer worked long and late hours in the dungy tavern or struggled to grow a harvest. Everything was handled for me, and I wasn't sure how comfortable I was with that. I often found myself trying to help out the servants and being lightly reprimanded, it almost made me feel unneeded.

This was a time where that was abundantly clear.

The whole castle was a bustling heap of servants and guards, decorations and food. There were musicians I had spotted carrying instruments I had never seen. The kingdom was preparing for the annual Factional Unity Celebration. Apparently every year one of the Kings would host a massive themed party. Every important figure was to attend. There were Kings and Queens, The Royal Children, Generals, Sentries, Ambassadors, Warriors, Lords and their Ladies, even the council was arriving. It was one of the biggest events of the countries. This also apparently meant total chaos.

The party had been planned for a solid six months. I hadn't seen much of Augustus the following week as he was working late and attending meetings, ironing out the final details of the event. I could tell that he was extremely stressed, sometimes panicked. It was a pretty big deal given Augustus was the only King still standing on this continent. He pretty much represented all of the WarHaven. Since the other King's fell the land was automatically all combined and passed to him. Gus had told me a few weeks prior that a few hundred years ago the land was split into the Factions and ruled by five different Kings, and split according to species. They each had separate names and the vampire kingdom was called Valasiar.

Augustus felt a huge amount of pressure to show that he could handle the collapse of the other kingdoms. It was dangerous for other lands to believe he was weak, because that meant a lot of potential territory was in the hands of a weak leader. It could mean another war if someone tried to invade.

I quickly moved to the wall, avoiding three servants rushing with boxes full of green, black and silver ribbons. Some were silk and others were more of a tulle. The theme was gorgeous. Augustus had decided to pay tribute to the magic that once resided in these lands, with a small amount of hope that it would call it back. It was a celebration of what the land used to look like. He called it Masked Nature. He said it was a little bit of a play on the fact that the seasons seem so heavily masked and muted in Warhaven. The land would see a huge influx of nature and maybe be inspired to return. He said it's silly but I told him that it was sweet and always good to be hopeful.

I continued down the hall, watching out for more bustling servants. I was on my way to my final dress fitting. The real thing. I quickly ran up the stone stairs by the entry, carful not to trip or run into anyone else.

I finally made it to my room where Camara and three other servants were awaiting my arrival. My late arrival.

"My Lady, please. We talked about this." She rushed to my side, shutting and locked the door. She ushered me to the bathroom, having me sit on a stool by the tub. She had filled it with water, warm from the steam I saw dancing on the top. "Time is of the essence today."

"I'm sorry Camara. I rushed here as soon as I realized the time."

She clicked her tongue once and gestured for me to get in so I peeled my clothing off and slipped in while her back was turned. She returned with a bar of soap and said, "Get started."

I wasn't very fond of bathing with others in the room, but I assumed that was a normal thing around here as many people had walked in on me. As well as the fact that I often bathed in front of others during my time in the orphanage.

I was as swift as I could be as I scrubbed my body and washed my long brown hair. As soon as I was done, Camara came and dumped a last bucket of water over me without warning. I quickly wiped my face and tried to pull my hair from it.

"Camara!" I yelped.

"Sorry, girl, we've got no time for spare soap. Hop out." She was quite ruthless today. She placed a towel on the stool and started to collect her items for primping and pruning I was sure. I stepped out and quickly dried myself, wrapping the towel around my dripping body, tucking it under my armpits. I grabbed a smaller one and wrapped my hair before sitting on the stool.

She approached with a small basket that contained several tools and started in on my face. She applied a thick cream and massaged it in. Then she started on the plucking.

My skin screamed at me with every hair she ripped from the root. I couldn't help but think of when Victeria stripped me of everything I was and made me into the perfect auction prize. I shuddered at the memory.

"Please hold still! We are nearly done." Camara scolded. She plucked another hair and I nearly told her to stop. I could do most of these things myself, but my skills, apparently, were not thorough enough.

She finished up and went to grab the basket from the ground, stopping in her tracks.

"Oh this won't do." She reached into the basket and pulled out a blade for shaving, passing it to me and gestured to the tub.

I snatched it and said, "I could've done that in the tub you know."

She walked out of the room yelling over her shoulder, "Most women do." I scowled in her direction.